Original French WWII M1926 Adrian Artillery Helmet – Complete Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice genuine World War II M1926 French Army Artilleryman’s “Adrian” helmet. The helmet retains the original olive green paint and has the original RF (République Française) marked Artilleryman’s badge with crossed cannons attached to the front.

Size is approximately US 7 (56cm). Features a wonderful complete original leather liner in good condition with signs of very little wear. The chin strap is present and in good condition, though it has cracking and overall leather deterioration from age.

Overall condition of the helmet is very good, shell shows some minor dings, scratches and paint chips consistent with age, especially on the aluminum comb. This is a great chance to get an original WWII Era French helmet in great shape. Ready to display!

In 1926 the Adrian helmet was modified by being constructed of stronger steel and simplified by having the main part of the helmet stamped from one piece of metal, and therefore without the joining rim around the helmet that characterizes the M15. The large ventilation hole under the comb, which had been a weak point of the old design, was also replaced with a series of small holes. The M26 helmet continued in use with the French Army until after World War II, and was also used by the French police up to the 1970s. During the interwar period Belgium began to produce their own domestically made M26 Adrians and exported them around the globe. These helmets can be distinguished from their French counterparts, because they have a slightly different comb and a wider rim. In other countries the Adrian-type helmets were also in use with the fire-fighting units, railway guards or marine infantry (e.g. Japan’s SNLF). Adrian helmets are still prized by collectors today.

The M15 Adrian helmet (French: Casque Adrian) was a combat helmet issued to the French Army during World War I. It was the first standard helmet of the French Army and was designed when millions of French troops were engaged in trench warfare, and head wounds from the falling shrapnel generated by the new technique of indirect fire became a frequent cause of battlefield casualties. Introduced in 1915, it was the first modern steel helmet and it served as the basic helmet of many armies well into the 1930s. Initially issued to infantry soldiers, in modified form they were also issued to cavalry and tank crews. A subsequent version, the M26, was used during World War II.